Red Hawks, Spartans Too Tough to Tame for Lions

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By James McDaniels

Gridley Herald - Gridley, CA

By James McDaniels

Posted May. 4, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By James McDaniels

Posted May. 4, 2014 at 12:01 AM

In their first week after the Sutter Varsity Tournament in Marysville, the Lions returned home to Live Oak for two games. On April 22, the Lions took on the Colusa Red Hawks. Two days later, the East Nicolaus Spartans made the trek up to Live Oak to take on the Lions. Despite home-field advantage, the Lions had trouble producing runs on offense and preventing scoring by the opposing team on defense in both games. Ultimately, the Lions lost both games by substantial margins.

On Tuesday, the Red Hawks took control early, scoring five runs in the first two innings on a combined three hits and three walks. Four of those runs were batted in, including two from Riley DeWit on a triple in the second inning.

However, it was at the top of the third inning when the Red Hawks separated themselves from the Lions by a huge margin. During that half-inning, the Red Hawks put together an eight run rally that included four singles, a double, a triple, and four walks. All eight runs were batted in, including two RBIs each from Carter Cunningham and Hayden Bailey in the inning.

The Lions scored their first run at the bottom of the third inning. Robert Quillin, the lead-off man for the Lions in the inning, started off with a single. After two stolen bases, Quillin was able to advance to home from third base on an error and score, despite the fact that Live Oak did not get another hit in the inning.

The Red Hawks continued to bring runs across the plate at the top of the fourth inning. The Red Hawks scored seven runs in the inning, with all of them coming from the first seven batters. During the inning, the Red Hawks collected three hits, five walks, and five RBIs.

The Lions put together a small rally in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring three runs while collecting only one hit. However, the Lions still found themselves in a deep hole. The Red Hawks continued to dominate offensively, adding four runs at the top of the fifth inning on four singles, a double, and two walks. When the Lions were due up to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, Lions coach Zach Wilson decided to call the game instead because he was upset from the lack of effort from his team. Thus, the game ended in 4 ½ innings in favor of the Red Hawks by a score of 24-4.

On Thursday, like the Red Hawks, the East Nicolaus Spartans jumped out of the gates early. In fact, in the first inning alone, the Spartans made it through the entire batting line-up, with six of their first nine batters scoring. Four singles, one double, and two walks helped contribute to the first inning six run rally. Five of the six runs were batted in, with the only other run being scored on a wild pitch.

Page 2 of 2 - The Lions were the next ones to score, bringing in one run in the bottom of the second inning. Jevin Cheema led-off the inning with a single, then used a stolen base, a ground ball, and a wild pitch to comes home and put the Lions on the board.

The Spartans started to pull away in the top of the third inning, scoring five runs on four singles and two walks. Only three of those runs were batted in, including two RBIs by Alex Torres. After holding the Lions scoreless in the third, the Spartans brought in five more runs at the top of the fourth inning. During that span, the Spartans only managed three hits, but they were also walked three times and had two batters hit by pitches.

The Lions scored their second, and final, run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Once again, the lead-off man reached base and ultimately scored the run for the Lions. This time, it was Steven Garcia. Garcia took a walk, then stole 2nd base before advancing to third base on a hit. Michael Quillin then batted Garcia in via an infield ground ball.

The Spartans added two insurance runs at the top of the fifth inning, despite not collecting a hit. Instead, two walks and a combination of errors, a wild pitch, and one batter being hit by a pitch led to the two runs. After holding the Lions scoreless in the bottom of the fifth inning, the game was ended due to the mercy rule, resulting in an 18-2 Lions loss.

Next week, the Lions will take on the East Nicolaus Spartans and the Pierce Bears on the road. After those games, the Lions will have a bye before finishing the regular season at home against the Esparto Spartans on May 8th. The Lions will actually play Esparto twice in a back-to-back doubleheader because the first game between them earlier in the season was rained out.